1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to audio devices and equipment, and more particularly to intelligent audio speakers. Embodiments of the present invention relate to the distribution and management of audio in residences and businesses utilizing infrastructures provided by a local area network, a wide area network, or a combination of the two. Various embodiments of the present invention can be utilized on a network based on any medium, wired or wireless, but will be described further here in relation to a broadband power line network and/or a local area network based on power line communication. Various embodiments of the present invention have uses in at least two areas: (1) a broadband power line access network that provides connectivity to homes, businesses, and other entities, and (2) a high-speed local area power line network in a home, business or other environment that provides connectivity among devices located within the environment. Embodiments of the present invention have use in any network utilizing digital music distribution, and/or a digital music application, and in some embodiments where enhanced ambiance capability and control are desired.
2. Description of Related Art
There exist today many types of packet-based communication networks, where data is exchanged among a number of devices, based primarily on the actions being performed at any one of the devices. In today's home entertainment and related networks, the data, or data patterns, can primarily be categorized into three main types; streamed, control and request, and content information. Streamed refers to audio and video data of various formats (MPEG1, MPEG2, MPEG3, AVI, etc.), control and request refers to data that relates to management and control of the audio and video streams, and content information refers to data related to the specifies of audio or video streams available on a network. The bulk, or largest portion, of the data being transmitted is usually streamed data (it should also be understood that streaming data could be represented by a sequence of packets). This streamed data is normally distributed to a number of devices, wherein both audio and video may be distributed to an Audio/Video device such as a TV or monitor, and audio only may be distributed to audio rendering devices such as speakers.
In recent years, there has been interest in connecting existing audio and video devices to such networks, and also to enhance the Audio/Video experience within such networks. The present invention not only solves the unmet need of connecting existing audio and video devices, for example, audio speakers, to such networks, additionally, in some embodiments, the novel use of ambiance effects to enhance the Audio/Video experience is also described. One such novel ambiance effect uses a backlighting arrangement that can be installed to an Audio/Video device, such as a TV or a speaker, and can project light whose characteristics, such as color or intensity, can be changed based on the particular video or sound that is being viewed or listened to. Some embodiments of the present invention contain this novel use of ambiance effects. In some embodiments of the present invention, a retrofit device is disclosed that converts an audio speaker into a networked device that can communicate over a power line network, receive digital distributed audio signals or packets, convert this digital data to analog audio signals, and, in some embodiments of the present invention, create enhanced ambient backlight effects based on data received, and in some embodiments, user input. In other embodiments of the present invention, a device is disclosed that is contained within, or otherwise electrically coupled to, an audio speaker that becomes a networked device that can communicate over a power line network, receive digital distributed audio signals or packets, convert this digital data to analog audio signals, and, in some embodiments of the present invention, create enhanced ambient backlight effects based on data received, and in some embodiments, user input.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for connecting audio speakers to a digital network. It is another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for connecting audio speakers to a digital network with enhanced ambient backlight effects. It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus that can be retrofit to existing audio speakers for connection to a digital network. It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus that can be retrofit to existing audio speakers for connection to a digital network with enhanced ambient backlight effects.